How to Setup Your Book for Printing
Get Started Printing Your Book with Acutrack
Submitting your book for printing with Acutrack is a straightforward process that only requires following the steps below. We’re an affordable full-service printer that also offers a book fulfillment service. Our services are an excellent alternative to print on demand; with us, you’ll have a better-quality book.
Printing your book with us is sure to be a refreshing experience because we’re customer-focused in everything we do. You’ll benefit from our years of experience working with individual authors and companies publishing books of all sizes and types.
Reviewing Your Files for Book Printing
Closely following our book formatting guidelines assures you of an elegantly printed book at the lowest cost and in as little time as possible. Meeting the minimum requirements for margins and gutters is crucial to ensuring an optimal reading experience—avoid the impulse to cut corners with the page count.
- Bleed is the term for printing that extends beyond the trim edge of your book’s cover or inside pages. All pages are trimmed to the selected trim size when your book is printed. To ensure items on your page, such as a photograph, extend to the edge, they must surpass the trim line by 0.125″. It’s essential to set up the entire file with bleed, even if only one page requires it.
- Margins keep all your content visible (and readable). The inside margin size is contingent on the page count, as more pages result in a thicker book, necessitating an increased inside margin for the spine. Margins allow room for readers to hold their books comfortably while reading them. They also create an open appearance to make the text inviting, allowing space for headlines, page numbers, etc.
- Gutters compensate for the visible page space that is lost because bound book pages don’t lay flat when open. The inside margin against the binding, called the “gutter” margin, allocates more room to compensate. It ensures content near the binding remains visible and readable.
Add a Barcode to the Back of Your Book
Our Acutrack book order fulfillment service requires a barcode on the back cover of your book for scanning during order fulfillment. You can choose a Data Matrix barcode (as our customer service team for help) or an ISBN and corresponding code. If the retail distribution is part of your plan, we advise you to purchase an ISBN, which is available from Bowker in the U.S.
A Data Matrix is a two-dimensional code of black and white cells arranged in square or rectangular patterns. ISBNs are internationally recognized identifiers assigned to each published book. They include details about its edition, publisher, trim size, page count, and binding type.
Book Printing Setup:
We’re with You All the Way
The most important thing to remember is the support available from our customer service team at any step of the process. The farther you can get things “DIY,” or with the assistance of your book designers, the faster things will go. But if you have questions or need advice, we’re always here to help.
We print books with digital and offset printing and offer all binding types—hardcover, paperback, spiral/coil, or wire-o. Our system makes it easy and affordable to publish high-quality books that will compete well with titles from big-time publishers.
We’re also an excellent solution for corporate marketing projects, including printing and shipping books.
